It seems to me, what with the 2 handfulls of times ive seen the ABB live and heard countless live shows from them, that Gregg's organ is really low in the mix, sometimes almost low enough to be nonexistent to my ears. I really love his organ....wait uh, i really love the sound of the instrument he plays, but most of the live recordings ive got you can barely pick it out in the band.

I know he can play the hell out of the keys so why dont they mix it louder, even just by a little bit, not to drown out anybody else, but warren and derek are so high in the mix that they sometimes drown gregg out. For example, i saw them in charlotte 2 nights in October, Danny Loius sat in both nights and played with gregg, now several times i could clearly pick him out, both at the show and on the cds when i got them, but i really couldnt pick gregg out.

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Mon Jan 11, 2010 10:47 am

Dartdog82

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Re: Greggs organ

phish1 wrote:

I went to see them at Ruth Eckerd, last allmans show for the year. I have seen them a ton and Greg did not look good.He had, forgot his name, playing the keyboards all night and Greg just sat there. I have also heard that many people were a little dissapointed. The tix were over $100. I was not dissapointed, I just wondered how much longer he can hold in there.

yea i know he can rock out, although at charlotte he had a pinched nerve in his back and couldnt sit down long, and danny had to do most of the work the first night. just wonder why they dont mix him a lil higher in the sound thats all. dont hijack my thread with arguments

The "big brown thing" behind the Hammond B3 organ is a Leslie speaker. These speakers are also referred to as "rotating Leslies," although I personally don't know of any non-rotating Leslie speakers. Leslie is a brand name like Lego. Only one company, to my knowledge, makes them. They are still in production today and they are commonly mated with Hammond organs (although Hammond B3 organs are no longer manufactured, as far as I know).

All Leslie speakers have internal motors, but different Leslies work in different ways. In some, the speaker elements themselves rotate. In others, the speaker elements are fixed in place inside of a spinning cylinder which has a hole in it. Basically, the Leslie speaker gives an organ that pulsating effect. Most organs have switches installed on them so that the player can turn the motor on and off.

You will hear Gregg alternating between having the motor on and off. An experienced organ player will be able to manipulate the on/off switch quite well. IMO, Gregg's great ability as an organ player comes more from his sense of feel, which includes his ability to manipulate the Leslie speaker, than it does from his dexterity. If you can't differentiate between the sounds, listen in particular to "Get On With Your Life" from "Evening With . . . First Set" to hear Gregg turn the speaker's motor on and off. Another example is on "Mountain Jam," where on the "Circle" or "waltz" section of "Fillmore Concerts" MJ, the motor is off, while on the very end, the motor is on. [Joseph Charles Kelly]

The original mechanical "tonewheel generator" HAMMOND's were produced from 1935 through until 1975. Gregg's model B-3 (and essentially similar C-3) were the latest and BEST of all HAMMOND tonewhell generator models and easily the favorite among professional HAMMOND players. They were produced from 1955 to the end of tonewheel production late 1974 / early 1975.

Rights to the original "HAMMOND Organ Company" name were purchased by HAMMOND-Suzuki around 1990 or so. They currently produce several new HAMMOND-Suzuki organs, including the XB-3 which looks in many ways like the original B-3, but it's digital, full MIDI and like all other organs produced after 1975, does NOT contain a tonewheel generator.

The classic HAMMOND B-3 is just that; a classic piece of equipment. The new XB-3 is a high-technology version which in many ways sounds like a B-3 and features many innovative improvements. But like the Ford Mustang, a classic 1969 is much different than a new 1998. Performance-wise, the original B-3 and original Mustang are in a class of their own.

Gregg's B-3's and Leslie 122's have been upgraded with "new" parts to maintain the classic sound in much the same way a classic car owner would restore an original Mustang. During the rebuilding of Gregg's equipment, we carefully restored the original performance, but we did NOT sacrifice the classic sound.

· Is Gregg's B3 the same one he's been using since the early days?

Gregg says, "No. I sold that one to Pyramid Studios. Now I have 2 '69s and bought a '71 recently."

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